Momentary epiphany often occurs during the mundane. Have you every experienced this? For instance, have you ever been doing one activity and it led you to another, or were you ever in a situation which called on one idea or concept and radically you were led to another thought or place?
While listening, brilliant tokens of insight can manifest themselves, planting a possible answer to questions in your life, in a totally unrelated way. Although, hearing is not the only sense where we invite our subconscious to brew on the ideas and sounds we take in. I can share that there are situations where we learn from simply listening, in whatever format that might mean to you, even if you cannot hear, there is something about the act of listening which invokes us to the vulnerable and the omnificent.
These are a few examples of how these patterns present themselves as lessons, which abstract as they seem are very real, trying to make connection to other connections.
Example 1
In this last semester of library school, I decided to take two courses to culminate my MSLIS program: 1) Scientific Data Management and 2) an Oral History Independent Study. I came into the term thinking these two courses would not have any relation to the other, and I would be proven wrong as the weeks pushed forward. In my SDM class, students are asked to perform a data interview. Sound similar to the interview done in an oral history project? While there are distinct differences, the takeaway was when I found a researcher, created a data management interview, and conducted the interview to create a data management plan. When I transcribed the recording of the interview, not only did I hear the concerns more deeply expressed by the researcher, I heard myself. The act of listening allowed me to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses as a professional.
Example 2
Today, I have been spending the day doing homework. Like many days, I listen to news shows and try to have background commentary for "company." After I had heard today's broadcast of Democracy Now, I decided to hear previously recorded episodes to accompany me while doing my work. I haphazardly chose a random selection from their archived broadcasts. The episode I happen to choose reported on war drone attacks in the "Middle East" and most recently in Pakistan. One of the other topics, which is geographically tied to me being in Boston, was a discussion about the relation of U.S. slavery and ivy league schools in the United States. The MIT Professor, Dr. Craig S. Wilder, commented on his publication Ebony & Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America's Universities, in which he connects to the larger context. This hit home, especially since I was at Brown University in previous weeks. The other commentator was a person who started a center, also here in Massachusetts, the Tracing Center on Histories and Legacies of Slavery. The speaker happened to be a white woman. Not to quote, but to echo her thoughts, she nervously made a comment that people need to listen to each other. That is White identified persons need to listen to the experiences of others and acknowledge the historical context. Alternatively she mentioned that non-White identified persons should also listen to White identified persons in identifying their privilege in the larger context. The issue here is not a binary black and white. What hit, no drew me into this position was again the act of listening. I am not posing a political opinion here explicitly other than I agree with the power of listening.
Example 3
Last week I attended DPLA fest here in Boston. This event was previously postponed due to the Boston bombings, a happening that marked the local community. Like all conferences, ideally, you network. I was able to connect with a well-known person in the library community. During a conversation, this person offered advice to me as I move out of school and into a professional position. Meeting people and hearing their advice, especially from those who have established positions, is intimidating and also one of the best things to happen. I really took what this person said to heart. And again, I was moved in another direction by the act of listening.
These three isolated events actually have connecting bodies. The power and act of listening can go a long way. I am invested in listening to others not just because I am a librarian, but because there is value in what other say and experience. One of the lessons on my mental map of occurrences is that sometimes we learn more about ourselves and others from listening than from talking. Try it next time. See what you learn or don't. Maybe there is not a lesson there for you, but what if there is?
While listening, brilliant tokens of insight can manifest themselves, planting a possible answer to questions in your life, in a totally unrelated way. Although, hearing is not the only sense where we invite our subconscious to brew on the ideas and sounds we take in. I can share that there are situations where we learn from simply listening, in whatever format that might mean to you, even if you cannot hear, there is something about the act of listening which invokes us to the vulnerable and the omnificent.
These are a few examples of how these patterns present themselves as lessons, which abstract as they seem are very real, trying to make connection to other connections.
Example 1
In this last semester of library school, I decided to take two courses to culminate my MSLIS program: 1) Scientific Data Management and 2) an Oral History Independent Study. I came into the term thinking these two courses would not have any relation to the other, and I would be proven wrong as the weeks pushed forward. In my SDM class, students are asked to perform a data interview. Sound similar to the interview done in an oral history project? While there are distinct differences, the takeaway was when I found a researcher, created a data management interview, and conducted the interview to create a data management plan. When I transcribed the recording of the interview, not only did I hear the concerns more deeply expressed by the researcher, I heard myself. The act of listening allowed me to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses as a professional.
Example 2
Today, I have been spending the day doing homework. Like many days, I listen to news shows and try to have background commentary for "company." After I had heard today's broadcast of Democracy Now, I decided to hear previously recorded episodes to accompany me while doing my work. I haphazardly chose a random selection from their archived broadcasts. The episode I happen to choose reported on war drone attacks in the "Middle East" and most recently in Pakistan. One of the other topics, which is geographically tied to me being in Boston, was a discussion about the relation of U.S. slavery and ivy league schools in the United States. The MIT Professor, Dr. Craig S. Wilder, commented on his publication Ebony & Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America's Universities, in which he connects to the larger context. This hit home, especially since I was at Brown University in previous weeks. The other commentator was a person who started a center, also here in Massachusetts, the Tracing Center on Histories and Legacies of Slavery. The speaker happened to be a white woman. Not to quote, but to echo her thoughts, she nervously made a comment that people need to listen to each other. That is White identified persons need to listen to the experiences of others and acknowledge the historical context. Alternatively she mentioned that non-White identified persons should also listen to White identified persons in identifying their privilege in the larger context. The issue here is not a binary black and white. What hit, no drew me into this position was again the act of listening. I am not posing a political opinion here explicitly other than I agree with the power of listening.
Example 3
Last week I attended DPLA fest here in Boston. This event was previously postponed due to the Boston bombings, a happening that marked the local community. Like all conferences, ideally, you network. I was able to connect with a well-known person in the library community. During a conversation, this person offered advice to me as I move out of school and into a professional position. Meeting people and hearing their advice, especially from those who have established positions, is intimidating and also one of the best things to happen. I really took what this person said to heart. And again, I was moved in another direction by the act of listening.
These three isolated events actually have connecting bodies. The power and act of listening can go a long way. I am invested in listening to others not just because I am a librarian, but because there is value in what other say and experience. One of the lessons on my mental map of occurrences is that sometimes we learn more about ourselves and others from listening than from talking. Try it next time. See what you learn or don't. Maybe there is not a lesson there for you, but what if there is?
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